More than just ‘Millennials’

Chicago — There are 79 million millennials in the U.S. And as the oldest among them are buying houses and starting families, the entire generation is amassing a tre- mendous amount of statistics. The Home Improvement Research Institute’s Conference here in October — titled “Generational Trends in Home Improvement” — contributed to our collective knowledge of this demographic and ventured to related topics. Here are three slides — out of hundreds — that stood out to HBSDealer editors:

1. Age of Housing Stock

Here are numbers that should give even the most cynical pessimist a cheerful dose of DIY, or DIFM (do it for me). When broken down by decades, the largest segment of U.S. homes are built before 1960 (maroon color in pie chart). The crooked hockey stick on the right shows the average age of housing stock jumping to 29 years. (Slide: RBC Capital Markets)

2. Emerging vs. Adult Millennials

Here’s a slide that makes clear that marketers can’t possibly paint a generation like millennials (ages 19-36) with a single brush. For instance: Adult millennials are more likely to be married than Gen X-ers (66% versus 61%), and way more likely to be married than the younger members of their own generation (22%). (Slide: The Futures Company )

3. The Connected-Home Continuum

Research firm trifecta has identified six segments along the spectrum of smart and connected homeowners, ranging from “Technocrati” to “Disinterested techno- phobes.” The prime candidate for smart-home invest- ment is the Technocrati. These consumers want the latest and greatest digital toys for their homes. They also have the resources to buy them. Interestingly, cost of installation was found to be an issue across the spectrum, while fear of installation was not. (Slide: trifecta) 

The Home Improvement Research Institute is a nonprofit organization providing actionable research on the home improvement market.